Washers on String
by daphrose
Summary: "It's different from what everyone else expects. We're not the overly romantic couple that goes out of their way to do sweet things for each other, and even when we do, it's something like this." He held up the necklace. "This necklace is romantic in the same way we are: in a way that completely baffles everyone around us."


**Warning: pure fluffiness ahead. Kissing and some slight sexual tension, but not much more than the show. I will also warn you of the fact that jewelry and I have a complicated relationship, therefore I know relatively nothing about it or the stores it comes from. I don't own Victorious or their characters. Unnamed jewelry store employee and the plot of this one-shot are mine. Enjoy!**

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 **_— Washers on String —_**

* * *

Jade held up a third-grade art project and scoffed. "Wow, I sucked at drawing tigers," she muttered. She put the paper back into the box and shoved it aside. Why her mom had chosen to keep every single drawing she'd made during her childhood, Jade would never know. Despite being an artistic person, Jade had never had the patience for creating something beautiful with her hands.

A crash echoed through the room, followed by a groan. Jade turned to see Beck by the garage door, one hand clutched to his side and the other grasping the workbench he'd run into. He smiled as he caught her eye.

"Hey, babe." He stood up straight and began to maneuver through the clutter to reach her. "I was going to do that whole sneaking-up-behind-you thing, but clearly that won't work in here."

"Nope. I don't know why my mom throws everything in here when we have so many freaking closets in our house."

Beck had reached her now, and he sat down beside her and threw an arm around her shoulder. "What're you doing in here, anyway?"

"Cleaning. My mom said that I could make it _possible_ for someone to get from the front of the garage to the back of it, she'd give me fifty bucks. She doesn't even want it totally clean; she just wants a path."

Beck chuckled and squeezed her shoulder. "Why are you so obsessed with earning money lately?"

Jade stiffened ever so slightly, but she didn't think he noticed. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb. You did that babysitting thing two weeks ago, the dog-walking after that, and you went to your dad's to do yard work for him the other day."

"So?"

" _So_ , you hate kids, dogs, and your dad. What's up? Why are you so desperate for money all of a sudden?"

"I just am, okay? I like to buy things. Is that a crime?"

"No, but you're always working some odd job now. I've missed hanging out with you." He pulled her in closer and buried his face in her hair. She leaned into him for a moment, allowing herself to get caught up in the warmth of his body.

She'd missed hanging out with him, too. He was correct. She'd spent the last two weeks working whatever odd job she could find, which had only resulted in misery. But that misery came with money, so she'd put up with it. She'd put up with crying kids and puking dogs and her father's puke-worthy new girlfriend. Why? Unfortunately, she couldn't tell Beck that quite yet.

Jade leaned away. "Well, maybe you're not the most important thing in the world to me."

"I'd be offended if I didn't know that you're lying through your teeth." He kissed the side of her head, but then he respected her wishes and let go of her.

Jade stood and moved aside a few more boxes. She'd made a reasonable stack in one corner, but although she'd been working for over and hour, it hardly looked like she'd made a dent.

"Why you don't take a break?" Beck said, retaining his position on the floor. He reached over and began to swat at the edge of an open box. "It's Sunday. Let's go to the movies or something."

"No. I want fifty bucks."

"Fine, then let me help you."

"No way. I'm earning this myself."

"Jade . . ."

"Beck . . ."

He sighed and did that adorably annoying tic of running his hand through his hair. "You're so stubborn."

"You haven't figured that out yet?"

Yes, not letting him help was a matter of pride. She wanted to earn every single cent of that money herself. She couldn't tell him, why, though. Not yet.

Jade worked in silence for a few moments as Beck studied some of the contents of the boxes. She tried to block out the fact that he was there. Gosh, was he distracting. She wanted nothing more than to run back into his arms and kiss him and get lost in all the clutter with him. But she couldn't right now. So she purposefully turned away from him and focused on the mess in front of her.

"You used to play softball?"

"Huh?"

She turned to see Beck holding a pink glove and a metal bat. She walked over and took them. She couldn't believe her mom had kept them all these years. "Yeah, for, like, six months. I was . . . eight? They wouldn't let me stay on the team because I tried to beat up a girl with my bat."

"You tried to . . . what?"

Jade shrugged. "She kept throwing sunflower seeds at me, and my mom should've realized it was a bad idea to put me in a sport where I have access to long metal rods."

Beck laughed. "That's my girl."

Jade put the glove and bat away and tried to find a place to put this box. She was already regretting this job. "Look, Beck, you don't have to stay." _Please don't stay. I'm never going to get this done if you're here._

"I want to hang out with you. We've barely done anything fun lately."

"This isn't fun."

"If I'm with you, it's fun."

"Aw, how sweet. Now leave."

"Jade, why don't you want to hang out with me?"

Jade had a sarcastic quip loaded, but when she caught sight of Beck's face, she let it go. He did look genuinely hurt—well, he looked genuinely hurt in the way that only Beck Oliver could look genuinely hurt. To anyone who didn't know him, he looked just fine. But not to her. His smile was faltering and his eyes were the key to the sadness caused by her rejections. Jade suppressed the usual joy she felt when causing boys pain and emotional turmoil. Beck wasn't just a boy.

"Look," she said, her tone soft. She stood above him, because she wasn't quite ready to stoop down to his level and possibly get caught up in a tryst she couldn't afford right now. "I'm sorry, Beck, but I promise we can hang out soon. I just really need to get this done right now. It's important to me." She reached down and twisted a strand of his hair around her finger. "Please, leave me alone so I can do this."

Beck pondered it for a moment, then he sighed and stood. "One kiss before I go."

She could handle that. "Deal."

He leaned in and kissed her firmly on her lips, one hand sneaking around her waist and the other up into her hair. She kept her hands on his chest, ready to push away in case he didn't. He didn't, of course. She applied the slightest pressure to his collarbone, and he backed off. She smiled at him—one of the soft, gentle, candid smiles that only he ever got to see. He smiled back and stepped away. "Good luck," he said, looking around at the boxes. "Call me if you change your mind."

"Not a chance."

The next forty-five seconds of him trying to find his way out of the garage were admittedly quite awkward. They'd already said their goodbyes, but they were still in the proper proximity for a conversation. Jade dealt it with by turning toward the back of the room and scanning boxes so she could figure out what to do next. Finally, she didn't hear Beck's shuffled footsteps anymore. She turned around and scowled. She hadn't wanted to turn him away. The last few weeks had been painful, and she'd so deeply missed spending her free hours talking to him with his arms around her. But she reminded herself _why_ she couldn't do that right now, and that was enough to refocus her mind.

Jade found her PearPod on the shelf against the back wall and pulled up her favorite rock playlist. She set it to shuffle and turned the volume up all the way. Loud, exciting music would make the work go faster . . . and banish her guilty thoughts about abandoning Beck.

_—_—_

"Ooh, ice cream!"

"No."

"No?"

"No. I'm not getting you all sugared up before I spend two hours with you."

"Aw."

"Maybe later."

"Yay! Hey, there's a Build-a-Bra over there!"

"No."

"But they have the best bras!"

"I said no."

"Phooey. Are we going to do _anything_ fun?"

"Later. I'm actually here for a reason."

"Why do we have to do what you want?"

"Because I said so. If you're bored, go talk to the kiosk guys."

"No-o-o. They're creepy, and they always want me to buy lotion."

"Then stop complaining. Here we are."

"The jewelry store?"

"Yeah. Go look at bracelets or something."

"Kay-kay."

Jade watched Cat wander over to look at cases. She had a different task in mind. She approached one particular case, her heart thudding in her chest. She knew she didn't have enough money, but she was trying not to panic about it. She patted her purse to make sure that the envelope full of two hundred and fifty dollars worth of bills was still there.

A female employee with a blonde ponytail and flashy smile walked up to Jade. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah. How much for these necklaces?"

"Oh, you have a good eye! These sterling silver and black diamond initial pendants are quite exquisite—"

"Uh huh. How much?"

The employee looked taken aback, but she recovered quickly. "Two hundred and fifty dollars."

"Each?"

"Yes."

Jade knew that already. She gritted her teeth. "What if I gave you two fifty for two of them?"

"Well, I couldn't accept that. It's two fifty per necklace."

"Yeah, but you can't sell that many of these, right?"

"Actually, they're extremely pop—"

"It would probably be worth it to just receive two fifty today, even if you get rid of two necklaces."

The employee's face began to sour. "I'm sorry, miss, but I can't just give you a necklace for free."

Jade briefly thought about begging, but the idea fled her mind immediately. She still had her dignity. "I'm sure we can work something out."

"I'm sorry, miss, but we don't negotiate our prices. If you have two hundred and fifty dollars, you can buy one necklace."

"Is that price without tax?"

"Yes."

"Then I can't even do that," Jade muttered.

The employee seemed to soften a bit. "Are you buying this for someone special?"

"None of your business." Normally Jade didn't snap like that at innocent employees—believe it or not—but she was ticked off that all of her hard work over the last few weeks hadn't been enough.

The employee smiled. "Someone very special, then. I understand. I'll let you in on a secret: We're planning a big sale in about ten days. These necklaces will be half off then."

Jade had to blink back tears, and she snarled. She shouldn't even be upset about this. It was so stupid. "I can't wait that long."

"Then I'm sorry. I don't know what to tell you. We have some other necklaces, if you want."

"No. Thanks anyway, I guess." Jade felt her face flush with shame and anger. Of course this would be her punishment for trying to be romantic and sentimental for once. "Come on, Cat."

"But the pretty bracelets!"

"Come on!"

Jade grabbed her friend's hand and dragged her out of the store. She needed to get away and stop thinking about it now. She'd absolutely wasted the last two weeks, and she could feel nothing but fury in her chest.

"Ouch! Jade, you're squeezing my wrist!"

Jade loosened her grip a bit and continued to drag Cat through the mall.

"Jade! Where are we going?"

She didn't know. She just kept walking, away from that stupid store and those stupid necklaces that she'd been stupid enough to think she could get.

"Jade, stop." Cat dug in her heels. "What happened?"

Jade turned to her friend. She always felt better when she vented to someone, and if that someone couldn't be Beck, Cat might make a good second. "Come here." She kept her grip on Cat, but she didn't yank this time. She led her into a side hall by the water fountains and bathrooms. Jade pushed a hand up against her forehead and swallowed. "Tomorrow is the anniversary of Beck's and my first date, and I wanted to get him something, you know, nice."

"Like jewelry?"

"Yeah. I wanted those initial necklaces. He could wear the J and I could wear the B. I wanted to do something big. You know, show that I . . . care, and whatever." Jade scuffed her toe against the ground. She only allowed herself to be vulnerable in front of a handful of people, and Cat was one of them. "I've been doing all these weird jobs for the last few weeks so I could afford to buy them, but it wasn't enough. And I've been blowing Beck off so I could make the money, and now it doesn't even matter." She could feel the tears pushing into her eyes, and she used all her willpower to shove them away and transform her sadness into anger. Anger was an easier emotion to control. "I should've known this was dumb."

"Aw, Jade, no! I think it's sweet."

"Doesn't matter, though. Why are things so expensive?"

"Well, not all necklaces are that much money. Maybe you could find cheaper ones to buy?"

Jade shook her head. "Those are the only ones I've found that I like. Everything else would look bad on either me or him. I've been looking for _two months_. There's nothing else I want."

"Oh." Cat dropped her gaze. "Well, I'm still proud of you."

"Proud?"

"Yeah. For being so nice."

She snorted. "Look what that got me."

Cat rubbed her shoulder. "How much money do you have?"

"Two hundred and fifty."

"Is there anything else you could buy him?"

Jade shrugged. "I . . . I really wanted those necklaces. I wouldn't even know where to start with getting him something else." She let out a sigh. She really didn't know. Beck wasn't a materialistic person, and she didn't want to waste two hundred and fifty dollars on something that he wouldn't care about or use. At least she knew he would wear a necklace. "How about I just spend all that money on buying you ice cream?"

"Oh, yay, I like that plan!" Cat giggled. "My turn to pull you!" She grabbed Jade's wrist and dragged her through the mall toward the ice cream shop.

No, Jade did not spend all her money on ice cream. She did buy Cat the biggest size they had, along with the most toppings available. She got herself a waffle cone with vanilla ice cream to freeze away her sorrows.

They wandered around the mall for a few more hours, but they didn't buy anything. Mostly they window-shopped and made fun of people's hairstyles, and the latter activity cheered Jade up immensely. Cat was a good friend.

They walked home together. They reached Cat's house first, and Cat said again how sorry she was that Jade couldn't get the necklaces. Jade tried to blow it off as much as she could, but Cat didn't buy it. She gave Jade a hug before heading inside. Jade had to walk back to her house with all the thoughts swirling around in her head.

She didn't go through the front door when she got home. She went to the garage instead and looked over the work she'd done. It had taken an entire afternoon, but she had at least organized most of the junk and swept it into the corners. There still wasn't nearly enough room for a car, but at least someone could walk through the room without getting lost or breaking a hip.

It didn't matter!

Jade threw her purse onto the workbench and scowled. She glared at her dad's toolbox. Speaking of useless, he had barely ever used the thing. He hadn't even bothered to take it with him when he'd moved out. Jade had used it once or twice in the last year when her mom needed minor repairs around the house, but all in all, the toolbox and the bench it sat on had served little purpose to the West family.

She opened the box and began to poke around in it. She didn't really know what she was doing, but she needed a distraction. She needed to forget about all the work she'd put in for no reason. She needed to forget about those beautiful necklaces that they could've worn together. She needed to forget about Beck.

But she couldn't, and that turned out to be a very good thing.

_—_—_

Jade knocked on the RV door, and Beck yelled, "It's open!" She came in to see him kneeling by the couch and packing his backpack for school. He smiled as she came in.

"Hey, babe. I didn't know you'd be coming over this morning."

"Do you know what today is?"

"Yeah. It's our anniversary. A year since our first date."

"You remembered?"

Beck stood and walked over to her, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. "How could I forget? I just figured you wouldn't care."

"Well, you figured wrong." She held up a beaten and bent cardboard box. "Here. Happy anniversary and all that junk."

Beck raised an eyebrow and took the box. "What is it?"

"You'll find out when you open it, genius."

Beck chuckled. He sat down on his bed and lifted the lid of the box. His brows furrowed for a moment, as she figured they would. He pulled out the contents and held them up. "It's . . . uh . . . oh! They're necklaces. I see."

"Here I was worried I'd have to explain it to you." She took one of the necklaces from him.

"Is this a washer?"

"Yup. They're washers on string. They pretty much match, so there's one for me and one for you."

"How romantic."

"No need for the sarcasm." She narrowed her eyes. "Do you like it?"

"It came from you, so of course I do."

"Ugh, you're hopeless."

"What? I'm not supposed to like it?"

"You shouldn't. I mean, this isn't even sentimental. It's just stupid." She knew she had an enormous frown on her face. She didn't care.

"It's not stupid, Jade."

"Yes, it is."

Beck stood and came close to her. "What are you so upset about?"

She was still frowning, and then she started to break, and then the whole story came pouring out. She told him about going to dozens of jewelry stores to find the perfect necklace for them. She told him about the amazing black diamond initials on sterling silver strings. She told him about working every crummy job she could get so she could afford the five hundred dollars it would cost. She told him about her failure and only earning half of that. She told him about playing around with her dad's toolbox, finding the washers, and figuring that she could make her own necklace for no cost at all. She told him about tying up the washers in a fit of anger and thinking that she might as well give them to him because at least it was something. She was almost crying by the end of her story, but she didn't care. She kind of wanted to. She wanted him to know that she was upset, and that she was upset because she loved him.

"So, see? It's not even sentimental. It's cheap and pointless."

"It's not—"

"Don't try to tell me it's not. You don't have to wear it if you don't want to."

"Jade, come on. This is just silly. I'd wear any necklace you gave me, whether it cost five hundred dollars or fifty cents. You know that."

"It's not even romantic or anything."

"First, coming from you, yeah, it is. Secondly, I think that's the best part."

"What do you mean?"

"I _mean_ that it's different from what everyone else expects. We're not the overly romantic couple that goes out of their way to do sweet things for each other, and even when we do, it's something like this." He held up the necklace. "This necklace is romantic in the same way we are: in a way that completely baffles everyone around us."

She snorted. "You're obnoxious when you're being wise."

"These necklaces are perfect, Jade. They are romantic, and sentimental, in only the way that we could do it."

Jade couldn't help the smile that was creeping across her lips. She'd been hoping he would say that. She was so upset about missing out on getting those necklaces. She _wanted_ these washer necklaces to be something sentimental, but they wouldn't be unless he agreed to it.

After all, Jade didn't _totally_ hate sentimentality. But nobody else needed to know that!

Beck slipped the necklace over his head. "It's perfect." He took the other necklace out of her hands and put it around her neck, smiling all the while. "Even more perfect."

Jade folded her arms across her chest. "I feel bad now, though. I blew you off the last few weeks for nothing."

"Well, I guess you'll have to make it up to me, then."

Beck stepped so close that she could feel his breath on her forehead. They stood there for a single tense moment, smiling at each other and basking in each other's presence. Then Beck wrapped his arms around her and planted a solid kiss on her lips. They rocked back and forth, pushing and pulling each other as they blended together and became a single soul.

Their lips finally separated after a few minutes, but they didn't quite pull away from each other. They stood there for a moment, faces inches apart, hot breath circulating in the air between them.

"I'm guessing you want more," she whispered.

"I do," he whispered back, his eyes matching his smile. "But, you know, school."

"Ugh."

"After school?"

"Whatever you want."

"Oh, really?"

"Well, whatever you want that I approve of. And I can pay for something, if you want to go somewhere. I've still got two hundred and fifty dollars—minus the twenty I spent on ice cream for Cat."

"Sounds perfect."

They had to pull apart, but at least they held the promise of coming closer again later. They would certainly find a way to make up for lost time.

"Oh, one more thing," she said as they finished getting their stuff together.

"What's that?"

"There are rules that come with these necklaces."

He laughed. "Like what?"

"I refuse to be one of those sappy couples that's always purposefully matching. So the first rule is that you can't wear this necklace every day. Treat it like every other piece of jewelry you own."

"Got it."

"Second, don't put it on just because I'm wearing mine. If we happen to wear it on the same day, whatever. But don't go out of your way to make sure we are." She touched the cold metal that was resting comfortably on her collarbone. "After today."

"Do these rules apply to you, too?"

"Yup."

"Okay. Then I don't think there'll be a problem here."

Beck slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked up to Jade. He brushed his fingers against hers, and she clasped onto them. They knew each other's body language perfectly by now.

"You know," he said after a moment of staring into her eyes, "I think this all worked out. We've got matching necklaces, you've got over two hundred dollars, _and_ I've got the best girlfriend in the world."

"Well, duh." She leaned forward, requesting a kiss. He granted it.

She supposed Beck was right: after all, she did come out of this with quite a bit of money to spend as she pleased. Oh, and she had a sweet, caring boyfriend who would let her be somewhat sentimental without making a big deal of it. That was nice, too.

But the two hundred dollars was equally as nice.

Okay, not quite.

Fine, it wasn't nearly as nice.

She caught his smile and gave him her own.

Not nearly as nice at all.

* * *

 **So according to a screenshot of a tweet from the costume designer for Victorious, yes, their matching necklaces are actually washers. (Which I believe. They certainly look it.) I think that's the most adorable thing on the planet, and I had to write about it.**

 **I'm working on more Victorious stories, including a few one-shots, a bike-centric story, and a Bade suspense/thriller story that is long and completely epic. Keep an eye out!**

 **Also, I now have an account on AO3, if anyone's over there. I'm daphrose over there as well, and I'll be posting all of my Victorious fics on both sites.**

 **Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated but not required. See you all soon! Bye!**

 **~ Rosie**


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